China is developing a mission to send a pair of spacecraft to explore the far reaches of the Solar System and enter interstellar space by mid-century.
The project aims to send individual spacecraft to the nose and tail of the heliosphere, as well as areas of space dominated by the solar wind generated by our Sun, to study individual regions of this bubble and how it interacts with the interstellar medium.
A high official with China's lunar exploration project said the mission aims to reach a distance of 100 astronomical units from Earth by 2049, when the People's Republic of China celebrates its founding centenary.
Chinese heliosphere probes will be launched in 2024. The first will have to fly around Jupiter in 2029 before heading towards the nose of the heliosphere. The second probe will fly around Jupiter in 2033 then to flying around the ice giant Neptune in 2038. The spacecraft could also potentially release a small probe shortly before arrival, with the main probe observing its interaction with Neptune's atmosphere. The project also overlapped with NASA's Voyager missions.
Chinese probes are paying more attention to the heliosphere and the interstellar medium. In addition, they study of such phenomena as anomalous cosmic rays and the "hydrogen wall" at the border of the Solar system and interstellar space.
China's heliosphere probes will take advantage of advances in propulsion systems and ground stations, as well as deep space communications, made in recent years by China's space industry. Such progress has recently facilitated missions to Mars, the return of lunar samples, and a planned mission to Jupiter.
Source: astronews.ru
Comments